This invention relates generally to a culinary apparatus and, more specifically, to an apparatus providing a repetitive rotational movement to a container holding a food preparation such as pasta while applying heat.
The proper, simultaneous application of heat and agitation to pasta such as fettuccine, or other foods while coating the same with a sauce is a critical step in the preparation of the particular food dish. While the application process can be briefly described as exposure of a pan containing the food ingredients to heat during agitation of the pan, this only barely indicates the interrelationship of factors which can make the difference between a properly prepared food dish such as fettuccine alla Alfredo and an unacceptable and poorly prepared food dish. The formulation of the sauce used with such dishes is, for example, itself an important factor, and may incorporate a dairy product ingredient such as cheese, cream, milk or melted butter which is especially sensitive to even momentary application of localized high heat. Thus one purpose of pan agitation is to circulate the pasta and the sauce and take advantage of heat without permitting local burning and the radical alteration of flavor by dissolution of the combustion products in the sauce. Another purpose of agitation is to assure that the pasta is circulated thoroughly and coated evenly by the sauce at a rate appropriate to achievement of the coating consistency desired by those consumers with an educated taste for pasta dishes.
In the prior art, the process of agitation for pasta preparation, coating the same with sauce and the avoidance of sauce burn and pasta hardening while maintaining sauce consistency has been conducted by hand. Those who possess the physical strength, experience, coordination and concentration necessary for tossing the pasta in the pan over an extended period of time, and the visual and taste skills necessary to determine the on-going status of the preparation process, are considered very valuable food preparation specialists and are paid accordingly. Thus the end product of the process has long been considered a delicacy, and the restaurant industry has recognized that while customers will pay generously for a correctly prepared product and continue to frequent a restaurant that serves a correctly prepared dish, it is also true that customers will not return for a poorly prepared product. Accordingly, it can be seen that it is highly desirable to provide an automated mechanism for pan agitation which provides a complex, rotary motion sufficient to circulate pasta and sauce while applying heat to achieve a food dish comparable to that heretofore requiring the undivided, manual attention of a skilled chef.